At the beginning, Chen Hanzhang consciously changed the termination line of the southward attack on Pinghan Road to Baoding instead of going south to Xinle directly according to the original plan, or pushed the battle line to the front line of Dingxian County and leveled the front line with the Hejian line. Thus, in the direction of Baoding, a salient was reserved for the Japanese army, which was to use its own armored cluster to attract more Japanese troops with this salient.

Always keep in mind that Yang Zhen has ten fingers on the battlefield, it is better to cut off one finger of the enemy. No matter how many cities are captured, it is better to encircle and annihilate a division of the Japanese army. We are fighting on our own soil, and once we attack the city, the people in the city may become hostages in disguise. When a shell goes down, the dead and wounded are all our flesh and blood compatriots.

If there is a fighter plane that can destroy the enemy in the field, Chen Hanzhang should not attack the city as much as possible. I don't like his tank troops, and adopt the tactics of pushing flat on the front line and chasing ducks. He prefers the tactic of cutting off the enemy's rear and attacking centripetally. Find fighters to avoid cities and destroy enemies in field situations.

Therefore, although he did not plan to recapture Baoding City now, he wanted to cause the greatest panic to the Japanese troops in Baoding City in the shortest possible time. In order to rescue Baoding, the Japanese army transferred at least a considerable part of the troops from Gaoyang and Hejian to reinforce Baoding, so as to open the gap between the Japanese army's actions and create conditions for their own roundabout assault.

Although the troops in his hands have been damaged to a certain extent, their muscles and vitality are still there. Moreover, the battlefields around Beiping have opened up the connection between Pingxi and the Pinghan line. Some units of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region have begun to recover cities along the Pinghan Line. The connection with the deep area of Pingxi is completely opened, which is equivalent to just around the corner.

How to play this game of chess now, the initiative is in your own hands. Therefore, although Chen Hanzhang did not plan to attack the city directly, in order to bring the greatest pressure to Lieutenant General Sakai Yasu, he forced the Japanese army to divide the heavy forces on the south bank of the Hutuo River. His counterattack against Baoding came up with all his might.

When launching an all-out offensive against Baoding City, Chen Hanzhang put all the rest of his troops into it, except for retaining a tank company and a regiment of reserves. In the shortest possible time, he created a situation of a tiger descending the mountain for the Japanese army. Because only when the beaten meat really hurts, will I shout loudly for my mother.

In fact, Chen Hanzhang deployed like this, and he was also gambling. Bet that the Japanese army easily did not dare to give up Baoding, an important town that controls the mountainous areas of western Hebei and eastern Jin. If the Japanese army really ignored Baoding and attacked head-on in the river. Then his whole plan will be completely disrupted.

The most important thing is that the Baoding battlefield, the salient of the Japanese army, will become a bone stuck in his throat. At that time, the entire Jizhong battlefield will be in a situation where the forces are scattered and cannot be concentrated. Unless there are follow-up troops to join, at least his division in the north of Baoding will be easily immobile.

Chen Hanzhang's hand relieved Lieutenant General Yasushi Sakai and Major General Anri Ano who had not yet recovered from the 1st Tank Brigade in the air offensive in less than an hour. His troops attacking from the front, under the cover of dense artillery fire, broke through the already crippled Japanese defenses on the Caohe line.

Without the threat of Japanese tanks, the anti-coalition tank units even drove their tanks directly in front of the Japanese positions, which were already crippled under air strikes and heavy artillery bombardment. As if shooting a target, the remaining firepower of the Japanese army was defeated one by one. Although the Japanese army launched several meat bomb offensives, trying to destroy the anti-union tanks that rushed in front of them.

But under a set of skillful infantry and tank coordination tactics that the Anti-Japanese Federation had long practiced, those Japanese soldiers who were strapped with grenades or pushed gasoline cans wanted to die with the tanks. The tank, which didn't have time to get close to the Anti-Union, was beaten into a meat sieve.

Although the Japanese army in the north of Baoding was equipped with two anti-tank gun squadrons, the anti-tank guns they were equipped with could only penetrate the flanks at a very close distance against the M-4 tanks of the Anti-United Nations. But at this distance, the infantry of the Anti-Union will give them a chance to open fire?

The self-propelled anti-aircraft guns of the Anti-Japanese Federation even joined the firepower, using the armor protection on their bodies to drive close to the Japanese positions, and flatten the anti-aircraft guns to sweep the Japanese positions. At this distance, the twin 23-mm anti-aircraft guns were even more powerful than ordinary direct-aim guns.

Chen Hanzhang's firepower strike made the Japanese troops on the south bank of the Cao River who had not yet recovered their breath chaotic. Except for passive resistance and beatings, there is basically no way to fight back. But this is not the worst, the worst thing is the Japanese army on the south bank of the Cao River, and the posture pulled out is still an offensive posture. In the face of the anti-union firepower attack on the north bank of the Cao River, even the most basic field fortifications were lacking.

Single-mindedly wanted to fight across the other side of the Cao River and defeat the anti-coalition forces on the other side of the Cao River. In order to use the assault power of the 1st Tank Brigade to outflank the line from Gaoyang to Hejian and Cangzhou, the rear of the main force of the anti-United Nations penetrated the flank, or to give a heavy blow to the anti-United Nations interspersed troops on the flank.

After the 1st Tank Brigade arrived in Baoding, Chen Hanzhang withdrew to the north bank of the Cao River. The deployment on the south bank of the Cao River has always been an offensive. According to Yasushi Sakai's point of view, the Imperial Army only attacked and attacked, and there was no such thing as shrinking defense. The enemy forces have been dispersed, and if they do not attack at this time, when will they wait?

It's just that the sharp counterattack in his heart was directly disintegrated by the air attack aircraft group of the Anti-United Nations before it was put into the battlefield. But after all, his formation has not had time to adjust. His configuration on the south bank of the Cao River, although it was blown up in pieces, the whole situation was still offensive. Chen Hanzhang's offensive caught the Japanese army, which had not yet adjusted, by surprise.

Under these circumstances, with the cooperation of artillery and tanks, Chen Hanzhang's troops who broke through from the front tore him apart on the battlefield on the south bank of the Cao River in less than an hour. The Japanese army, which was divided into countless pieces, could only resist passively.

On the right flank of the Baoding North Battlefield, Chen Hanzhang made a beautiful left hook and used the tank as the guide to penetrate directly into the city of Baoding. The momentum and speed of its assault even exceed that of the front. Just when the two regiments invested in the frontal anti-Japanese alliance were encircling and annihilating the Japanese army on the south bank of the Cao River. Chen Hanzhang's left hook has hit the city of Baoding, and its shells have fallen to the head of Baoding City.

Chen Hanzhang's left hook hit the city of Baoding. And at this moment, the battle was defeated, and the last counterattack was the defenders of the entire Baoding City who even lost their pants. Only the troops of the 17th Division, which had been collected from the northern battlefield of Baoding, were less than one brigade, and the first squadron of the motorized infantry wing of the 1st Brigade of the Chariot Brigade plus the military police, and the total strength was less than 1,000 people.

With such a small number of troops, it is quite difficult to even control Baoding City, let alone bear the defense of the entire Baoding City. Even Lieutenant General Yasushi Sakai has abandoned all the strongholds on the periphery. But such a small number of troops still can't afford the defense of the entire Baoding City, a strategic town on the Jizhong Plain.

As for the other puppet security forces, plainclothes squads, and the so-called various pseudo-garrison units, Qingxiang teams and other puppet armies. He Yasuichi Sakai is distrustful, not general distrust, but quite distrust. Because he knew that many of these people, especially those armed forces such as the garrison, were secretly colluding with the Eighth Road.

Moreover, he still knows the real combat strength of these people. These people let them bully the militia of the North China Communist Army, and it is okay to set up sentry posts and collect food. Not to mention the old Eighth Road back then, that is, the so-called county and district armed forces and other dirt Eighth Road, if you really move it, I am afraid it will not be an opponent.

What's more, the anti-union that is armed to the teeth in front of you, with aircraft, artillery and tanks cooperating? As soon as these people go to the battlefield, there is basically no possibility that they will not turn back. Lieutenant General Yasushi Sakai still dares to use these people as the main force of the city defense? It's too late to see if these people don't turn back.

Although he also knew that among these people there were also a lot of traitors who were desperate. There are some blood debts of their compatriots in their hands, and they will never dare to surrender to the communist army. But these people's combat effectiveness is too poor, and their opponents are too tough, and these people may not even have enough qualifications to block eye-catching. What's more, these people are not very numerous among those who serve the empire or Nanjing.

Under the situation that the enemy army has already been overwhelmed, the only thing that Lieutenant General Sakai Yasu, who was full of pride and has now long been wiped out, can now do is to desperately ask for reinforcements from General Okamura Ninji, who is already trapped in Beiping Castle. And for Okamura Ninji, who received telegrams from Lieutenant General Yasui Sakai asking for help, he is now also in a difficult choice.

With the opening of the Zhengtai Railway and the completion of the Shide Railway, although the strategic position of Baoding is not as good as Shimen, the abandonment of Baoding is equivalent to the complete abandonment of the mountainous areas of western Hebei and eastern Jindong, and even the central Hebei Plain is also equal to the complete abandonment. He doesn't care if Baoding is temporarily lost, but if the Jizhong Plain is lost, it can be said that for the North China Front, it can be described as a real drawdown.

The Jizhong Plain now bears not only the position of providing strategic materials such as grain and oil for the empire, but also the burden of supplying almost the entire North China Front. Once the Jizhong Plain is lost, then even if the Pingjin zone is held, the entire North China Front will be hungry.

The Kwantung Army lost most of Manchuria and could now only hold a corner of South Manchuria. The grain output in the controlled areas can only meet their own needs. Even the task of providing some food supplies to the homeland is no longer being completed. It is better to rely on the Kwantung Army to provide some material support.

And the local food itself is already stretched thin to meet the needs of the local people. Huge quantities of imported food are needed on a daily basis, and production is declining even more at a time when peasants are being conscripted on a large scale and agricultural production is largely dependent on women. Nor is it realistic to expect the homeland, which now needs to rely on food from Southeast Asia to make up for the shortfall.

The Jizhong Plain is the main grain producing area in North China, and now it is responsible for most of the grain needs of the North China Front. If the Jizhong Plain is lost, the life of the entire North China Front will be difficult. It will be a fatal blow to the Empire's overall strategy of feeding the war with war.

With Okamura Ningji's level, it is natural to see Chen Hanzhang's true intention of leaving a salient for the Japanese army in the Baoding area. But at the moment, for Okamura Ningji, he knows that this is a trap, but he can only drill hard. There is no way, the current situation of the entire Japanese army must not allow him to give up Jizhong.

As the reinforcements of the base camp have been arriving, although it is still felt that the troops are still somewhat insufficient. However, Okamura decided to take another risk and mobilize troops to make full use of this salient. In a situation where the frontal battlefield is not necessarily successful, a breakthrough is made from the flank.

Didn't the enemy create an ambush circle on the battlefield of Baoding, so he desperately transferred troops inside. I see you as an ambush circle with a thin front and strong flank forces. When the whole front is under attack, how many troops can be used on the battlefield in Baoding. Even if I can't defeat you, I'm going to kill you.